Air sealing services in Twin Falls ID - a house that holds its heat all winter
Cold drafts at the outlets and a hot upstairs usually mean hidden attic leaks. We find them, seal them and leave the vents breathing.
- Service
- Air sealing services
- Call
- (208) 544-9023
How do you know your house needs air sealing?
Drafts at outlets and trim
You feel cold air at outlets on outside walls, along the baseboards or around the attic hatch, and the furnace seems to run all the time. That usually means air is slipping through gaps into the walls and attic, and every winter you wait, you're paying to heat air that leaves.
Upstairs that won't cool off
In July the bedrooms upstairs stay hot long after the sun goes down. Attic heat is usually pushing down through gaps around can lights and the ceiling edges, and the AC keeps fighting it until those gaps get closed.
Dark streaks in attic insulation
If you look up the hatch and see gray or black streaks on the insulation, that's dust left by house air filtering through a gap underneath. Warm, damp air moving through there can leave frost on the roof nails in winter and, left long enough, damp spots in the framing.
What does air sealing do for a house in Twin Falls?
Air sealing services in Twin Falls close the gaps that let outside air move through your house, around the attic hatch, can lights, pipes and wiring, so the heat you pay for stays inside. Insulation works like a sweater that keeps you warm but lets the wind through, and air sealing is the windbreaker over it, which is why we seal first and then look at whether the insulation needs a top-up.
We're based in Twin Falls and work in Jerome, Kimberly and the cities around it, and most of the air sealing calls we get start with a drafty older house or a room that never feels right. The leak is usually somewhere you can't see, under the attic insulation or around the hatch, so the price and the schedule come down to how many hidden leaks there are, how deep the old insulation sits over them, whether flooring or stored boxes are in the way, and whether anything has to be fixed first, like wet or dirty old insulation. I look at all of that when I come out, and the estimate gives you the price for your house.
Details to note before an estimate
- Rough age of the house
- Where the attic hatch is
- Rooms that run cold or hot
- Gas furnace, water heater or fireplace
- Boxes or flooring in the attic
How our crew handles air sealing services
First I'll walk you around and show you the easy leaks, the gaps at door frames and where pipes, vents and wires go through outside walls, because a tube of caulk and some weatherstripping fixes those and you don't need a crew for them. Then we take on the hidden ones. We pull back the attic insulation over the tops of the walls, the can lights, the plumbing stacks and the hatch, seal each gap with caulk or foam, and lay the insulation back so it's as deep at the edges as it is in the middle. We leave the soffit, ridge and gable vents and any combustion air duct open, since those are meant to move air and covering them traps moisture in the framing. While we work, we keep an eye on how your gas appliances vent, because a tighter house changes how they draw air.
Leaks don't stop at the attic. In a lot of older houses the rim joist, the framing that sits right on top of the foundation, lets in plenty of cold air, and sealing it goes well with basement insulation. If your ductwork runs through the attic, I'll usually point you toward closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that seals and insulates in one layer and costs more for it. Otherwise, sealing the gaps and topping up the loose fill is usually the better buy.
Other work that pairs with air sealing
Basement insulation
If cold air creeps up from below and your first-floor rooms have cold floors, insulating the basement walls and rim joist stops it there.
Closed-cell foam insulation
When ducts or a furnace sit in the attic, dense closed-cell foam on the roof deck brings them inside the warm side of the house.
What happens after you call about air sealing in Twin Falls?
Call or send us a note
Call (208) 544-9023 or use the form, tell us a little about the house, and we'll set a time for me to come out. If you know how old the house is and where the attic hatch is, have that handy.
I look the house over
I go up in the attic, check what's already there and see how your gas appliances vent. You get the price for your house, and if anything has to be fixed before we can start, I tell you then.
Our crew seals the leaks
Our crew does the work, with a lead installer on site who knows what you and I talked about. If boxes or flooring are in the way, we'll have worked out where they go at the estimate.
We walk the finished job
When we're done, we walk the job with you and show you what got sealed and the vents we left clear. The insulation goes back down level, so you can see what you paid for.
What people ask about air sealing
How do I seal air leaks in my house myself?
You can seal the obvious leaks yourself, the gaps around door frames and where pipes, vents and wires pass through outside walls, with caulk and weatherstripping. What doesn't work as a weekend job is finding the small leaks in the attic of an existing house, because they're hard to spot and buried under layers of insulation. Do the easy ones, and call us for the attic.
What should be checked in the attic before air sealing starts?
A federal attic guide says to check for live knob and tube wiring, the old cloth-covered kind on porcelain knobs, plus vermiculite insulation, bath fans that blow into the attic, roof leaks, unvented kerosene heaters or gas fireplaces, and attic flooring. Finding those early means they get planned for instead of turning up halfway through. I look for all of them when I come out for the estimate.
How do I know my gas furnace is safe after air sealing?
A backdraft test tells you, and federal guidance says it should be done at the end of each workday while sealing is underway, with any sign of backdrafting fixed. It's called CAZ testing, and it checks whether a furnace, water heater or fireplace is pulling its exhaust back into the house as the house gets tighter, so it's fair to ask any crew how they run it. The City of Twin Falls doesn't allow unvented fuel-burning appliances in houses, so if I find an unvented heater or gas fireplace, we talk about it before anything gets sealed.
What Idaho rules apply to contractors on bigger air sealing jobs?
The Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses sets the contractor rules, and they reach anyone working a construction job over $2,000 in materials and labor who isn't otherwise exempt. We're fully licensed and insured.
How much does air sealing cost in Twin Falls?
Your price comes from the estimate, because it's set by how many hidden leaks your attic has and how much work it takes to reach them. Old insulation that has to be pulled back or hauled out, flooring that has to come up and a packed attic all add time, while a small, open attic with an easy hatch costs less. If money's tight, Idaho's Weatherization Assistance Program uses certified crews to make upgrades that lower utility costs for families who meet its eligibility rules, and its funding is limited and given out year-round, first come, first served.
Does attic flooring have to come up for air sealing?
Yes, if there's flooring or sheathing on the attic floor, it has to come up before the leaks under it can be sealed. If that flooring is holding the roof framing together, the attic guide says to replace that job first, with collar ties, boards that tie the rafters to each other, before any of it comes up. A full attic of stored things may also need a plan for where it goes while we work, so tell me about both when you call.
Get a free look at your attic's air leaks
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out myself, look over the attic and anywhere else that's leaking, and give you a free estimate with no obligation. If something has to be fixed before we can start, you'll hear about it at that visit.
Explore our services and areas
Services
- Spray foam insulation
- Attic insulation
- Blown-in insulation
- Home insulation
- Insulation removal
- Crawl space insulation
- Wall insulation
- Basement insulation
- Closed-cell foam insulation
- Open-cell foam insulation
- Commercial insulation
- Crawl space vapor barrier
- Vapor barrier installation
- Attic air sealing
- Retrofit insulation
Service areas
Find out where your house leaks
Call (208) 544-9023 or use the form, and mention your house's age, where the attic hatch is and which gas appliances you have, so I come out ready.